Agriculture

Zimbabwe’s land reform and white farmer compensation

To bolster a struggling economy, President Mnangagwa is launching a new programme to address the socio-economic consequences of Robert Mugabe’s land reform programme in the early 2000s. Despite limited investment, argues Wandile Sihlobo, the Zimbabwean government’s approach is critical for building credibility in its reform agenda at home and internationally.

When Emmerson Mnangagwa assumed office as President of Zimbabwe in […]

What crop theft in northern Uganda tells us about relations between investors and communities

In the Acholi sub-region of northern Uganda, commercial farmers are experiencing an increasing theft of maize. Arthur Owor and Carolin Dieterle explore the underlying reasons for this and draw attention to the need for more meaningful collaboration between investors and host communities.

This article is part of the #PublicAuthority blog series, part of the ESRC-funded Centre for Public Authority and International Development.

In this article, Mwai Daka highlights the impact of climate change on agriculture farming in Zambia, particularly on small-scale farmers. He explains why it is important for Zambia’s Ministry of Agriculture to take a pro-poor stance in order to help small-scale farmers deal with the effects of climate change on the country’s agriculture sector such as the introduction of […]

How inefficient land allocation in Malawi is severely depressing agricultural productivity

New data on the relationship between resource allocation and agricultural productivity in Malawi has revealed how a minority of total cultivated land is acquired in the market while the vast majority is either directly (or indirectly) distributed via the Customary Land Act, say Diego Restuccia and Raül Santaeulàlia-Llopis.

Accordingly, the allocation of land is unrelated to farm productivity. The Customary Land Act is […]

Farmers’ vulnerability to climate shocks in Benin

Farmers’ vulnerability to climate shocks is affected by their exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity. One must parse these components before designing policies for climate resilience, says Boris Odilon Kounagbè Lokonon. Agro-ecological factors are especially important, as their variation means that households with low adaptive capacity do not necessarily have high exposure or sensitivity to climate shocks.

Book Review: Cotton by Adam Sneyd

In Cotton, Adam Sneyd brings the reality of international trade into focus through tracing the local and global politics behind the circulation of one of the most everyday of materials: cotton. This is a vividly told, interrogative read that establishes its author as a leading expert on the politics of commodities and development, finds Dr Milasoa Chérel-Robson.
The cover of Cotton by Adam Sneyd is […]

Argentina is a strong example of how state action can transform a country’s agricultural sector, writes Wandile Sihlobo.

At the 2016 International Grains Council Conference in London, I sat in admiration as Jesús Silveyra from Argentina’s Ministry of Agriculture presented his country’s ambitious 2020 development plan for the agricultural sector. Silveyra highlighted six important points, namely: Argentina plans to increase […]

During a series of seminal lectures on the Evolution of the International Trade Order, economist Sir Arthur Lewis explained the positive implications for trade once industrialisation takes shape. He did this by tracing this history in developed […]

Zambia could become a successful investment destination for agribusinesses

Zambia needs to get its agricultural policies right in order to attract investments, writes Wandile Sihlobo.

As part of my duties at the Agribusiness Chamber (Agbiz), I recently engaged with agribusiness leaders in the agricultural inputs and insurance industries to share my observations regarding crop production trends in Southern Africa in the 2015/16 season. My analysis of these trends […]

Nigeria Can Learn From China’s Rural Reform Policies

LSE’s Zainab Haruna argues that a more holistic view of sustainable rural transformation is required for Nigeria.

In 2006, the Hu Jintao/Wen Jiabao-led Chinese government initiated a new set of reforms to foster rural growth and transformation in China. The move became necessary after unrest in the rural countryside, which had been left behind in the Asian giant’s move for […]

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